preclinical

adjective

pre·​clin·​i·​cal (ˌ)prē-ˈkli-ni-kəl How to pronounce preclinical (audio)
1
: of, relating to, or concerned with the period preceding clinical manifestations
2
: of, relating to, or being the period in medical or dental education preceding the clinical study of medicine or dentistry
3
: occurring prior to clinical testing
a preclinical animal study of a new therapy

Examples of preclinical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The rest were aimed at human treatments and included preclinical toxicity testing of a pancreatic cancer drug candidate and development of a new islet cell transplantation method for type 1 diabetes. Bymeredith Wadman, science.org, 28 Oct. 2024 The decrease was primarily driven by cost rationalization measures and the wind-down of preclinical studies. Quartz Bot, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024 In one preclinical study, NYU researchers suggest that activatingan immune checkpoint called PD-1 could restore balance to the immune system, especially through strengthening mechanisms involving how the receptor forms pairs (or dimers). William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024 Moreover, the company also shared data for its preclinical IL-18 and IL-12 programs - candidate nominations for each are expected later this year. Joe Cornell, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for preclinical 

Word History

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of preclinical was in 1876

Dictionary Entries Near preclinical

Cite this Entry

“Preclinical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preclinical. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

Medical Definition

preclinical

adjective
pre·​clin·​i·​cal (ˈ)prē-ˈklin-i-kəl How to pronounce preclinical (audio)
1
a
: of, relating to, concerned with, or being the period preceding clinical manifestations
the preclinical stage of diabetes mellitus
b
: occurring prior to a clinical trial
preclinical animal testing to assess a drug's safety
2
: of, relating to, or being the period in medical or dental education preceding the clinical study of medicine or dentistry
the preclinical years
specifically : of or relating to the early period of prescribed medical or dental study devoted to the basic sciences (as anatomy, physiology, and pathology)
preclinical studies
3
: of, relating to, or being a science basic to medicine
research in the preclinical sciences
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